'We're explosive'

MOSCOW — Sure, it was the No. 1 offense vs. the No. 2 defense, but still, 10 touchdowns in 11 possessions is not too shabby.

“We’re explosive; we’ve got a lot of guys that can make plays, and we’re going to be a threat in the Sun Belt,” said tight end Deon Watson, the former Coeur d’Alene High standout, who caught two touchdown passes in Idaho’s Silver and Gold spring football game Friday night before a couple hundred fans at the Kibbie Dome.

The Silver team, made up of the No. 1 offense and No. 1 defense, beat the Gold team, made up of No. 2s, 80-10.

With starting quarterback Matt Linehan sitting out spring drills with a left foot injury, Jake Luton directed the Silver offense and threw five touchdown passes. He passed for 591 yards, many times hitting receivers running wide open through the secondary.

Luton, who will be a sophomore this fall, guided the Silver to TDs on its first seven possessions.

Watson caught six passes for 87 yards.

Callen Hightower caught five passes for 167 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Rueben Mwehla caught the final one, before Vandals coach Paul Petrino blew the whistle for good on the scrimmage with 12:39 left in the fourth quarter.

“We went 1s against 1s all spring, so we’ve got a lot of tape on that,” Petrino said, explaining why Friday’s scrimmage was 1s vs. 2s. “But it’s still executing, staying focused. A lot of times offensively what stops you is yourself. As long as you execute, know what you’re doing and do your job, and don’t stop yourself, then you have a chance to score all the time.

“The score wasn’t as important to me as people executing where you wanted them to execute.”

Aaron Duckworth, the heir apparent to 1,000-yard rusher Elijhaa Penny, ran for 161 yards and a pair of scores, looking like Penny as he barreled over a defender at the goal line on a 1-yard run.

“It felt great, just going out there and showing what I can do, showing how hard I’ve been working,” Duckworth said.

The Silver defense got a pick-six from safety D.J. Hampton and another interception by safety Jordan Grabski. And the linebackers, in particular Kaden Elliss and Khalin Smith, were able to put pressure on Gold quarterbacks, though how much was hard to tell because quarterbacks were off-limits to contact and defenders often let up when they got close.

“That’s good. That mean I’m doing my job, if they’re coming in free,” defensive lineman Tueni Lupeamanu said of the linebackers. “We call it ‘Eatin’ potatoes. I’m out here in Idaho, eatin’ potatoes.”

Aside from eatin’ potatoes, the Vandals also saw some nice defensive back play from the likes of Tarik Littlejohn, Easley Simmons and Sedrick Thomas. Dorian Clark and Tony Lashley teamed for a 1-2 pop on an unsuspecting receiver.

Gunnar Amos, another ex-Coeur d’Alene standout, guided the Gold team on all but one possession. He connected with David Ungerer on a 6-yard TD pass early in the third quarter. Amos completed 18 of 32 for 121 yards. The pick-six was thrown by A.J. Woodin, his only pass of the night.

Cade Coffey, the heir apparent to punter-kicker and senior-to-be Austin Rehkow, handled most of the kicking duties. Coffey made all eight of his PATs, was just short on a 47-yard field goal try late in the first quarter, and good on a 27-yarder just before the half. One of his punts sailed 50 yards.

Notes: Zion Dixon, a redshirt freshman from Lake City, saw quite a bit of action at left guard for both teams in the second and third quarter … Defensive end Gavin Whitesitt, a former Lakeland Hawk who redshirted as a freshman last fall, was honored as last year’s defensive scout team player of the year at halftime … Idaho opens the season Sept. 1 at home vs. Montana State.

SCORING PLAYS

Brantley 6 run (Coffey kick)

Duckworth 24 run (Coffey kick)

Hightower 17 pass from Luton (Coffey kick)

Watson 25 pass from Luton (Coffey kick)

Watson 4 pass from Luton (Coffey kick)

Hightower 76 pass from Luton (Coffey kick)

Saunders 1 run (Coffey kick)

FG Coffey 27

Ungerer 6 pass from Amos (Coffey kick)

Duckworth 1 run (Fenlason kick)

Saunders 1 run (Fenlason kick)

FG Fenlason 29

Williams 38 interception return (Fenlason kick)

Mwehla 20 pass from Luton (Fenlason kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING— Duckworth 13-161, Brantley 8-23, Saunders 14-72, Amos 9-4, Coman 2-4, Woodin 1-1.

PASSING — Luton 32-47-0-591, Amos 18-32-1-121, Woodin 0-1-1-0.

RECEIVING — Hightower 5-167, Mwehla 5-56, Duckworth 2-8, Sannon 6-148, Onunwor 4-51, Ungerer 8-68, Boston 3-30, Watson 6-87, Coman 2-14, Hamilton 1-5, Brantley 3-16, Cowan 3-57, Ellingson 2-5.